Saturday, February 27, 2010

VAULTCAST: "Rowdy" Roddy Piper Talks They Live!

It was a rainy afternoon in not-so-lovely Utica, New York in the summer of 2006. At an undisclosed location (in other words some random industrial hell-hole), I was on-hand for a photo-shoot for WWE's upcoming special one-shot magazine "The 51 Worst Offenders", chronicling the most memorable ring baddies to ever lace up a pair of boots.

On hand were the likes of the Iron Sheik, Edge and Ric Flair. And on this particular day, one of my duties as a senior editor of WWE Magazine involved sitting down with the number-one man on our villains list, the one and only "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. I talked with the Rowdy Scot for a full two hours, discussing the ins and outs of his wrestling career.

But being the consummate geek I was/am, I simply could not resist the urge to question him about They Live--specifically that epic fight scene with Keith David. Even though I knew it would never make the magazine, just for fun, I got the Hot Rod to talk for a couple of minutes about his role in the John Carpenter cult classic--including getting the part, and what it took to pull off that ridiculously long scene.

Those few minutes have never seen the light of day--until now. And so, dug out from the B-Sol archives, I give to you this tasty little tidbit of Roddy Piper reminiscing about his starring turn in one of the '80s most memorable horror flicks...

This is great stuff! I loved him in They Live. I actually saw it at a short run at the theater in San Antonio. That fight scene is timeless. Grueling. But, looking at the picture in your post, I think you can take him.

Thanks for the praise, guys. I was so excited when I found I still had this stuff recorded. To tell you the truth, I have countless hours of stuff that would probably be considered priceless to fans of wrestling and wrestling history. There might be a book in this someday!

This was great to hear, B-Sol. Thanks for posting this. BTW, the R2 DVD from the UK for THEY LIVE has a John Carpenter commentary track on it. And, Roddy Piper joins him for it! It's a good pick up to have if you have a region-free player.

My pleasure guys. I've been thinking of dipping more into my WWE treasure trove, but it's hard to find stuff that's horror-related! Hmmm...maybe I have Kane talking about See No Evil in here somewhere...

Which horror film *should* be remade?

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I've been fascinated with horror ever since my parents let me watch The Exorcist at 8 years old (what were they thinking??) and I ran up to my bed screaming when Linda Blair's eyes rolled into the back of her head.Although it often gets a bad rap from "mainstream" critics and audiences alike, horror has often been the most creative and vibrant movie genre of all, from Nosferatu to Saw. Some of the finest motion pictures ever made are part of the horror genre, including Frankenstein, Psycho, The Shining and my personal all-time favorite, George Romero's Dawn of the Dead.This blog is the culmination of my 25-year love affair with all things blood and guts--so check back here often for news and opinion on the world of horror. And remember...